On DVD, my favorite discovery this year is SPIDER BABY, this bizarre black comedy from the 1960s. It's like the Addams Family, if the Addams Family actually killed and ate their visitors! It really has to be seen to be believed.

I'm looking forward to renting FROST/NIXON and LET THE RIGHT ONE IN as soon as I can take some time off from the book I'm working on right now.

I'm looking forward to renting FROST/NIXON and LET THE RIGHT ONE IN as soon as I can take some time off from the book I'm working on right now.

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Let The Right One In (Låt Den Rätte Komma In) was recommended quite heavily (once again, my beloved BuffyForums). It's a really interesting film and I am VERY picky about foreign cinema. It's definitely one of the more memorable new films I've seen in recent years actually. It's haunting.

Certainly a better vampire film than the God-awful, embarrassing Twilight series (it makes vampire fans embarrassed to be vampire fans).

From 2008:
Appaloosa (I've seen better made for TV westerns.)
Valkyrie (Well made, but just okay)
Gran Torino (well acted but a bit overrated)

2009:
Taken (enjoyable but overrated)
Push (light but fairly entertaining)
Watchmen (Decent but not outstanding)
Knowing (amusingly bad)
State of Play (better than I would expect)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (pointless but watchable)
Star Trek (most overrated film of the year thus far)
Terminator Salvation (maybe the trailers were better than the movie, which seems more and more common, but I liked it)

Milk [A]. I was very impressed by this film. The last half hour is the best part of the movie, and if there had been the same emotional impact throughout the entire film, the movie would have won Best Picture.

Doomsday (2008) - post-apocalyptic hijinks in Scotland, with Neil Marshall concocting a pastiche of films such as Escape from New York, The Road Warrior, 28 Days Later, and Resident Evil, with some Gladiator and Robin Hood thrown in for good measure. It's enjoyably nutty, but nowhere near as good as The Descent.

Bottle Rocket (1996) - the endearingly quirky comedy that put Wes Anderson and Owen and Luke Wilson on the map (they initially filmed it as a short film and then got the funding to expand it to a feature).

Freaks (Saw it last October. It's easily the most unique film ever made for its cast alone. The film puts its deformed cast in an sympathetic light. The viewers are firmly on their side. When they feel pain, you feel it. The ultimate story of the outsider. I have a great appreciation for the people in this historic and infamous cult film. "One of us!")

Goya's Ghosts (Miloš Forman already directed the greatest period film ever, Amadeus. From that, you know what he is capable of and the period backdrop is similarly choreographed with Spain instead of Prague. While not as amazing as his masterpiece, this film is solid and well-done. Loved the teensy Mozart shout-out. Forman's asylum motif from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus and now this is intact. Stellan was great. Javier was genuinely creepy at being so grossly immoral.)

Låt Den Rätte Komma In (One of the most unique and haunting films I've seen. This is how a vampire film should be made. It's also a strong example of foreign films branching out into the fantasy genre and being able to compete. The film is dark in the sense that the protagonist's story is one of becoming a willing accomplice to murder after victimization by cruel school children. Eli created a new companion and helper out of Oskar. I also like how the vampire effects and rules were done. And of course, there's the hint at androgynous Eli's origins and being an immortal genderless and incomplete 12-year-old. You almost want to see the remake just to see how they're going to deal with that! Lena Leandersson was very impressive.)

17 Again (Actually not quite as horrible as I thought it would be. It is slightly ripped off of Back to the Future--especially the daughter flirting with the father in his young body scenes, which were very Marty/Lorraine. Efron is actually starting to look like an adult male. This was definitely an attempt at a non-Disney film, however, the abstinence message, which I agree with, was overblown and made him really sound like a middle-aged loser father. Speaking of which, the older version was grossly miscast. I watched it mostly for Michelle Trachtenberg. I sit through the occasional crap movie for Jossverse alumni.)

Twilight (I watched it like the derivative *sparkly* train wreck I knew it was and which half the people I know just mock endlessly. The acting is more abysmal than even horrible writing could possibly be. The only redeeming parts involved the evil trio and the quirky Cullens. Edward and Bella and the actors playing them were AWFUL! Unwatchable! My bleeding eyeballs! Enough of vampires in daylight. I hate this pansy new trend. And for God's sake, if you're going to do good vampires, don't make them glitter and sparkle! Let them keep some dignity in being dark, tormented and ambiguous. And I can't get over the stupid idea that Bella gets everything that she wants and becomes a vampire. That goes against everything the vampire-who-hates-what-he-is concept is about.)

I work at a movie theater, so I get free movies and I try to go as often as I can.

Marley and Me
Valkyrie
Slumdog Millionaire (easily my favorite for the 08 Oscar Race)
Gran Torino (I need this on DVD for sure)
Milk
He Just Not that Into You
Mall Cop
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li (this was laughable...)
Coraline
Fired Up
Watchmen
Miss March
I Love You Man
Taken
Monsters vs Aliens
Adventureland
Sunshine Cleaning
Dragonball Evolutions (again..laughable)
Observe and Report
17 Again
X Men Origins: Wolverine
Star Trek! (This is honestly what launched me into the fandom sad, I know)
Up
Night at the Museum 2
Hangover
Land of the Lost

Theres quite a few DVDs I've watched but I can't remember them all. I just remember to save my tickets from the movies I go see.